My Mortgage BC

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Most people want the lowest rate because they want the lower payment and the lower interest paid to the bank.  Banks know this.  So they have other income from the mortgage that most people do not look into, for example pre-payment penalties or contracts that do not allow borrowers to refinance within a certain period of time.
 
For example, this happens very often in Canada:
  • Mortgage $500,000, 5 year fixed term, Rate 2%
  • 2 Years later they sell the property.  Penalty (they were not aware of) $20,000
  • When you add the penalty the calculated rate they paid to the bank was 3.98%
  • They thought they were paying 2% when in reality they ended paying 3.98%

 

The best way to compare rates is actually to compare the mortgage contracts.  This cannot be done online (online you can only compare rates).  The best way to compare a contract is to have clarity on what your plan is moving forward and your plan for the property.  Then have a professional mortgage broker lay out different options based on your needs,  with pros on cons on the different lenders that satisfy your objectives.  Then you can make an informed decision.
Of course, the more down payment the better because you will borrow less from the bank.
You can purchase a property to live in anytime whether you’re a First Time Home Buyer or not with 5% down up to $500,000.
 
This will help you understand the minimum down payments required:

  • 5% down for Property Less than $500,000. (Example $25,000 down payment on a $500,000 property)
  • 10% down for amounts above $500,000 to $999,999 (Example $45,000 down payment on a $700,000 property)
  • 20% down for properties over $1M (Example $260,000 downpayment on a $1.3M property)
  • 25% down or more depending on the lender for properties over $1.5M
Currently if your down payment is less than 20% the maximum number of years to pay off your mortgage is 25 years.
If your downpayment is 20% or more the government allows the maximum number of years to be 30 years.
This maximum number of years is called amortization.
 
Now, the contract you sign with a bank is not for the amortization but for the term of the contract.
Terms can be 1,2,3,4,5,7 and 10 in most cases.   After the term (your contract is coming up for renewal), you can continue with the same institution or transfer to another one.
Example:  You have your first term of 10 years with Bank A, a second term of 10 years with Bank B and a third term of 5 years with Bank C = 25 years amortization (you are then debt free!)

This is typically what a person would think. This cannot be further from the truth. You can get a very good approval even if your existing bank said no. Different lenders have different policies for approvals and we study them hard so we know all the little details that make big differences. That is why we named our brokerage “Mortgages Lab”.

In the odd event that we cannot give you any options, we will give you a path, a solution so you can get a mortgage in the very near future.

 

This is what in theory should happen. In reality a bank would only give you an option. At Mortgages Lab we specialize in comparing with other banks. Sometimes there are promotional rates that are only to new customers, so your own bank would not necessarily give it to you.

On a daily basis we are able to give better options to customers who have been with their own bank many many years. This does not mean you have to change your banking. You can have only the mortgage with another bank, keep your banking with your existing bank and spread the risk, similar to what you do with investments.

When we get an approval, even when we go to different lenders, with your authorization, we only pull your credit once. This protects your credit, it allows you to compare with different lenders and this avoids damaging your credit. Your credit can be damaged only when an applicant go directly to many financial institutions during a prolonged period of time.

 
 

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